Details:

John Wilkes Booth Carte de Visite Photograph, a nineteenth-century albumen portrait depicting the famed actor and future assassin of President Abraham Lincoln seated in a studio pose. The reverse bears the imprint of Fuller & Smith, No. 100 Washington Street, Boston, identifying the retailer or publisher of the photograph.

One of the most recognizable figures of the Civil War era, John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865) was a celebrated stage actor before achieving infamy on April 14, 1865, when he assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. Following the assassination, Booth became the subject of intense public fascination, and his likeness was widely collected and distributed in photographic form.

The present example depicts Booth during the height of his theatrical career, prior to the events that forever altered his place in American history. The portrait captures the charismatic young actor whose fame on the stage made him one of the best-known performers of his generation.

Near fine condition.

John Wilkes Booth was a member of the prominent Booth acting family and one of the leading Shakespearean actors of the 1860s. His assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865, just days after the Confederate surrender at Appomattox, remains one of the most consequential events in American history. 

Authentication:
Includes a full letter of authenticity from JG Autographs, Inc.

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Reference sku: 11669 1416189-1